Riot duty in Northern Ireland 1969

[Robert Jan de Wit]

Hello all,

I made this figure of a Royal Green Jacket in 1969 or early seventies in Northern Ireland.
All scratchbuild with an Hornet head and spare hands and shoes.
Reading about the Troubles impressed me very much and inspired me to do this figure and I am planning to do some more.
Sculpting is done with Duro and it was a long, long time since I sculpted a full figure. Some details and folds could have been sharper or refined. Visor and shield are scratch from plasticcard.
Painting is done with AKgen3 acrylics.

Thank you all for watching.
greets,
RJ

 

[Redcap]

Excellent painting and the colours look just right to me.
Gary

 

[Warren SMITH]

Very nice work.. Are the trousers accurate for the period, I thought they had pockets on the sides.. ?

 

[Dr Bison]

In 1969, some olive trousers didn't have side-pockets, it seems,

(image nicked from the BBC World Service page)

but this image taken in Derry in August 1969 shows both types:

(Getty Images)

 

[MoboSchreuder]

Excellent work again

Mobo

 

[TERRYSOMME1916]

RJ that's a great skill you have and and excellent result with the sculpt and painting, something that many of us can only dream off, well done.
Nice to see someone from another country having an interest in Northern Ireland, I grew up through the troubles and painting figures and model making was a big part of my escape from what was going on in the streets, although it was impossible to completely avoid it, but we are in a much better place now.
Historical connection with Northern Ireland and the Netherlands, namely William III, some nice colourful uniforms from that period, I have a project in mind, just looking for the right figures to convert.
TERRY

 

[Stephen B]

This is a pet subject of mine, so very interested to see your excellent work. Equipment is accurate for 1970. I use lead wire for edging riot shields, the rounded profile is closer to the real thing (which I have carried!).

 

[marco14]

a special figure ,something else ,but I love it
Mario

 

[Warren SMITH]

Interesting photos, thanks for clearing that up for me..

 

[Henk]

Excellent sculpting and painting Robert Jan.

 

[Helm]

Very well done and the colours look perfect
Steve

 

[Mike - The Kiwi]

Getting better & better with each project Robert.
This is very evocative piece, seeming to show a young, anxious man in an awkward situation.
What was most challenging part of this project?
MikeTheKiwi

 

[Jungle James O'Leary]

Nicely sculpted and painted. You did a really good job on the folds of the cloth, especially on the trousers.

Very nice piece.

 

[Robert Jan de Wit]

Excellent painting and the colours look just right to me.
Gary

Thanks Gary!

Very nice work.. Are the trousers accurate for the period, I thought they had pockets on the sides.. ?

Thanks Warren!
As dr Bison shows on the photos, both are possible.

In 1969, some olive trousers didn't have side-pockets, it seems,
View attachment 470049
(image nicked from the BBC World Service page)

but this image taken in Derry in August 1969 shows both types:
View attachment 470052
(Getty Images)

Thanks Karl for the additional photos.

Excellent work again

Mobo

Bedankt Mobo! Saw your interview in de Tinnen Tafelronde. Nice to see the man behind the posts here in an another way.

RJ that's a great skill you have and and excellent result with the sculpt and painting, something that many of us can only dream off, well done.
Nice to see someone from another country having an interest in Northern Ireland, I grew up through the troubles and painting figures and model making was a big part of my escape from what was going on in the streets, although it was impossible to completely avoid it, but we are in a much better place now.
Historical connection with Northern Ireland and the Netherlands, namely William III, some nice colourful uniforms from that period, I have a project in mind, just looking for the right figures to convert.
TERRY

Thanks Terry!
And thanks for sharing your story. I was born in 77 and saw a lot of the Troubles on the daily news and it fascinated me but I didn’t understand nothing of what is was about. Reading about it now, in
retrospect, gives me a glimpse of understanding what happened to those British and SF soldiers and the ordeal of the civilians.

This is a pet subject of mine, so very interested to see your excellent work. Equipment is accurate for 1970. I use lead wire for edging riot shields, the rounded profile is closer to the real thing (which I have carried!).

Thanks Stephen! The riot shield was challenging to do but I am pretty satisfied about it. Could you explain how you do them. Always interested in solutions from other modellers.

a special figure ,something else ,but I love it
Mario

Thanks Marco!

Excellent sculpting and painting Robert Jan.

Thanks Henk!

Very well done and the colours look perfect
Steve

Thanks Steve!

Getting better & better with each project Robert.
This is very evocative piece, seeming to show a young, anxious man in an awkward situation.
What was most challenging part of this project?
MikeTheKiwi

Thanks Mike, for your kind words. The whole project was challenging but I liked the planning and engineering side of it. The protection visor took some multiple efforts to get what I wanted…but I am satisfied about it now.

Nicely sculpted and painted. You did a really good job on the folds of the cloth, especially on the trousers.

Very nice piece.

Thanks James!

*Thanks also for the likes!*

All the best,
Robert Jan

 

[Stephen B]

Robert Jan, I suggest cutting the shield from plastic card as you have done, rounded corners at the bottom and straight across on top. Then cut out a section of fine diamond pattern etched mesh, rounded corners on top and straight across at the bottom. Glue this to the shield. Glue a length of lead wire around the edges of the mesh, following the curves (you can flatten the wire a bit). There is a thin horizontal reinforcing strip on the inside of the shield, just below the mesh section. You can make the arm loop and hand grip from lead wire, but something stiffer is better. I would make the shield just a little bigger than the one you have done. Army shields were (deep bronze?) green, police shields were black, sometimes with a numeral painted in white on the inside. Clive Limpkin's book "The Battle of the Bogside" is a great source of images for this period.

Hope this helps!

Stephen